A Beijing theatre audience 'gasped in shock' after a banned image of a lone protestor blocking a line of Tanks in Tiananmen Square was shown on a giant screen during a Cirque Du Soleil show.

The iconic image was flashed up for several seconds during the troupe's first night performance of Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour in the Chinese capital according to the South Morning China Post.

The picture, showing a man standing in front of four tanks as they entered Tiananmen Square during a government crackdown on protests in June 1989, are banned by Chinese authorities along with any mention of the infamous massacre itself.

Protest: The iconic Tiananmen Square Tank Man image that is banned from being shown in China but was flashed on a giant screen during a Cirque Du Soleil performance in Beijing

Opening night: The image was shown in a Cirque Du Soleil production of Michael Jackson: The Immortal. A promotional poster for the show is pictured

The editor of entertainment website That's Beijing, Stephen George, said in a blog post that the photo was shown on stage during a montage of famous protest images during the song They Don't Care About Us and resulted in 'an audible collective gasp from the audience.'

According to CNN, he said: 'The very fact it was displayed, so publicly and on such a large movie theater screen in front of so many people -- and in Beijing, of all places -- felt genuinely quite radical.

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'As my friend commented, "I can't imagine ever being witness to that image being shown in Beijing again, even if I stay here for another 50 years".'

Mr George's post has since been deleted, according to reports.

But show publicist Laura Silverman said that the art troupe had submitted the entire show to Chinese authorities for vetting prior to the performance but that they had not flagged the banned picture up.

Popular show: Cirque du Soleil perform their interpretation of Billie Jean during the Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour

The image was deleted from subsequent performances but the show, which was on a three night run in the city, went on as planned.

The infamous image featuring the protestor who has become known as Tank Man, was taken in the Beijing Square during the infamous massacre in June 1989.

Students and intellectuals protested communist rule for seven weeks in the square in 1989 in the face of a brutal security crackdown.

Roughly 100,000 people are believed to have taken part in the protests - with up to 3,000 of those killed during the demonstrations.

Protest song: The image was flashed up on stage during a performance of the Michael Jackson song They Don't Care About Us, pictured, during which a selection of protest images are shown

The Chinese Government considers the peaceful protest to have been a 'counter-revolutionary' revolt, and has previously defended the decision to send in tanks and troops.

It has never provided an official death toll.

Last month authorities in the country banned the phrase 'big yellow duck' as an internet search term after a prankster doctored the famous Tank Man image and replaced the tanks with giant ducks.

The ban was part of an annual crackdown on efforts by families to commemorate the massacre.

A number of internet search terms, including 'tomorrow', 'today', 'tonight' and 'June 4' were also banned.